For the 5 people (Peggy) that are wondering where the hell I've been for the past 6 months, well, let's just say I've been losing a lot of sleep (mostly in a good way) on Bayou Gauche. (Check it out. Let me know what you think.)

I don't know if uninspired is the word, but I just haven't had the urge or the need lately to write lots of words consecutively. But leave it to my youngest offspring Joseph to bring me out of the dark tunnel that is an outdated blog.

Sometimes kids leave you little “gifts” around the house. And I say “gifts” because they are not always pleasant. Like a un-flushed toilet after Taco night or a decorated boiled Easter egg in the bottom of a drawer in August.

But once in a while you find something that just makes things a little better...

Mainly because I can barely form sentences because my brain is fried from various activities like trying to figure out how evil ninja zombies took over my 5 year old son and transformed him into a energy sucking, boundary pushing, makes me want to beat my head against the wall and/or lay in a fetal position on the bathroom floor....shell of a kid.

Joseph started school this year which means all my kids go to one place for 7 whole hours.

ONE PLACE FOR 7 WHOLE HOURS!

One would think the angels or the Lord up above or whomever gives you a break once in a while would be looking down on me and think to themselves, “She's been kicking ass for the past 7 years...why don't we cut her a little slack and see what happens.”

It's in those moments that I channel my father and exclaim, ''That's it! TV off! Go find something else to do!'' Which is soon followed by, ''Mom, I'm bored'' to which I really channel my father and answer, ''You're bored? Do you want me to find something for you to do?''.

If there is clutter around me, there is clutter in my brain and clutter in brain leads to anxiety which leads to panic which leads to 5 o’clock meltdowns.

Don't you wish you were married to me?

So you can imagine that the thought of school starting with the the lunches, and the backpacks and the bazillion school notes and folders and homework sheets and ballet registration forms and omg I'm about to have a nervous breakdown right here and now.

Luckily I occasionally have bright ideas to quiet this anxiety and a wonderful loving husband who can execute them...

And instead of the whole sports car mid-life crisis scenario, Mark has more of a I want to catch a tarpon for the first time in my life mid-life situation going on.

Which is fine for me because I get to go spend some time on the water in Belize then come back to the cabana and drink cocktails until it's time to crash. Then wake up in the morning and do it all over again.

I think he should turn 50 every year.

Well, his 50th birthday wasn't his lucky day as far as the tarpon were concerned so I thought this might help a little....

A few days after Festival International I was feeling pretty crappy to say the least. I felt like old rum was coursing through my veins instead of blood and my head was caught somewhere in between consciousness and that place where stuff that shouldn’t make sense does.

Until Friday, when Joseph's pre-school had their yearly mother's tea where all the moms come to school and sit at pretty tables prepared by the children, have tea and treats, and watch the kids sing songs...